Subsidizing Fuel: Still The Worst of Our Policies

The tragedy of fuel subsidies is that the half-a-trillion dollars that nations around the globe devote to them could be much better used, as research directed by my organization, the Copenhagen Consensus, shows.

The UN has adopted a wide range of developmental targets to improve conditions for the world’s poorest people by 2030. We asked top economists worldwide, including several Nobel laureates, to analyze the social, economic, and environmental costs and benefits of all these targets. In trying to figure out where each dollar of spending could do the most good, we’ve found that doing away with fossil fuel subsidies would be one of the most beneficial actions developing countries could take.

Our research, by economists Isabel Galiana and Amy Sopinka, finds that every dollar diverted away from energy subsidies would bring $15 in benefits. The billions of dollars governments would save could benefit hundreds of millions of people by improving health, nutrition, and education instead, all while slashing CO2 emissions, pollution, and congestion.

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